Repository Collection 03
Audit Reveals Missing Guns, Drugs and Money at Buncombe Sheriff's Department
ARTICLE SOURCE ENTRY
Last Revised • July 6, 2026
This Source Verification Page documents a newspaper article reporting the results of a 2006 audit of the Buncombe County Sheriff's Department evidence storage and inventory system. The article describes significant deficiencies involving missing evidence, firearms, drugs, and currency, providing independent reporting relevant to the preservation and reliability of physical evidence discussed throughout Statement of Facts B.
Related SMAR Citation
["Audit reveals missing guns, drugs, and money at Buncombe County Sheriff's Department," Mountain Xpress, 6/7/07]
Source Name
Audit reveals missing guns, drugs and money at Buncombe Sheriff's Department
Author(s)
Cecil Bothwell
Publication
Mountain Xpress
Publication Date
June 7, 2007
Verification Source
Audit reveals missing guns, drugs and money at Buncombe Sheriff's Department
Source Location
Mountain Xpress
Highlighted Pages
1
Referenced in the Supplemental Motion
Page 16, Paragraph: 21
✔ Article obtained and reviewed.
✔ Relevant passages highlighted.
✔ Publicly available source
✔ Included within the Source Verification Archive
May's allegation that serious deficiencies existed within the Buncombe County Sheriff's Department
evidence storage and inventory system. The Mountain Xpress article is cited to document the results
of a 2006 audit conducted during the transition between sheriffs, which reportedly found that a
substantial percentage of evidence items were either missing, could not be located, or had been
compromised. May relies upon this source to support his claim that the integrity of evidence
maintained by Buncombe County law enforcement was subject to significant deficiencies, raising
concerns regarding the preservation, accountability, and reliability of physical evidence relevant to
criminal investigations and prosecutions.
Link to the original article.
Working research copy containing the highlighted passages cited in the Supplemental Motion.
Continue browsing the sources cited throughout Statement of Facts B.
Return to the main Source Verification Archive and explore additional sections of the Supplemental Motion.
Source Status
Cited to Support
Supporting Documents
Original Article
Highlighted Research Copy
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